Journal between sessions
On Pro, the Game Master (GM) can open a game's campaign journal to every player between sessions, so the party can read and write it from their dashboard, whatever plan they're on.
Beta: the journal between sessions is still rolling out, so it may not be on your account yet. For players, it's your GM's account that counts.
The journal lives inside the game, and between sessions the game is often closed or locked. That's when a player remembers what the innkeeper said, or wants to write up last night's recap while it's fresh. Turn this on and they can, from the game's card on their dashboard, without going into the game and without a paid plan of their own.
Plan: turning it on needs Pro on the GM's account. Players don't need a paid plan: while it's on, everyone in the game can use its journal, Free accounts included, from the dashboard and in the game.
Turn it on (GM)
In your game, click the cog (Game Settings) on the tool rail, then the Rules tab.
In the Journal card, turn on Let players use the journal between sessions.
Decide whether to turn on Lock the journal while the game is locked, which appears underneath it. See the next section.
Click Save Settings.
Game Settings, Rules: Let players use the journal between sessions turned on, the lock switch appearing under it, then Save Settings.
It's off in every game until you turn it on. Once it's on, the game's card on each player's dashboard has an Open the journal button, and every player has Journal in the game, Free accounts included. Players see the change the next time their dashboard loads, or the next time they open the game.
Turning it off closes the journal to players without Starter or Pro of their own straight away. A button that's still on their screen then answers that the journal needs Starter or Pro.
Without Pro, the Journal card wears a crown and says Opening the journal between sessions is a Pro feature. Learn more opens a short explanation, Journal between sessions, with Upgrade to Pro. See What each plan includes.
Lock the journal while the game is locked (GM)
When you lock the game (in the menu, under GM Controls, Lock Game), players can't go in. With the journal between sessions on, they can still open the journal from their dashboard, and they can keep writing in it.
Turn on Lock the journal while the game is locked to make it read-only for them while the game is locked: they can read everything, but can't add, edit or delete anything. You can always write in it. Unlock the game and they can write again.
The switch only shows while Let players use the journal between sessions is on, and it changes nothing while the game is unlocked. Both switches are off in a new game. See Invite players for locking a game.
Open the journal from your dashboard
- On your dashboard, find the game's card. Open the journal is the open book beside Join Game.
- Click it. The Campaign Journal opens over your dashboard, on that game's journal.
- Read and write as you would in the game. See Campaign journal.
- Close it with the ✕ or Esc. You're back on your dashboard.
A red dot on the button means entries in that game you haven't read yet. See New entries and the red dot in Campaign journal.
It works while the game is locked: the card's main button says Locked and can't be clicked, but Open the journal still opens the journal. It works on a phone too.
On a player's card the button only appears once the GM has turned this on, whatever the player's own plan. Without it, players with Starter or Pro of their own still have the journal inside the game. As the GM on Pro, your own games' cards have the button whether the switch is on or not, so you can always open your journal from the dashboard.
What's different outside the game
- There's no Share, and selecting text doesn't offer Share to chat, because there's no chat on the dashboard to post into. Open the journal in the game to share an entry.
- Everything else works as it does in the game: Browse, Timeline, Notes and Entities, writing, tagging, covers and the red dots. As the GM you get All, Player and GM as usual.
Your own card (GM)
On Pro, your own game's card has Open the journal too, between Continue Game and Invite players, so you can read and write your journal without opening the game. You have it whether or not the switch is on: the switch decides what your players get, not what you get.
Without Pro, your button wears a crown, and hovering over it says Journal between sessions (Pro). Clicking it opens the explanation window instead of the journal. Players never see a crowned button.
In the game
While the switch is on, every player in the game has Journal on the tool rail (on a phone, in the menu under Your tools), and J opens it, Free accounts included. Quick notes with /journal in chat work for them too. See Campaign journal.
When the journal is locked
A player who opens the journal while the game is locked, with Lock the journal while the game is locked on, sees The GM has locked the journal while the game is locked. You can read it, but not change it. across the top. New entry, New note, Edit, Delete, Date, Add to timeline, the day's cover and the edit buttons on entity pages are gone. The red dots and Mark all as read still work, because reading isn't writing.
If the journal locks while you're writing (the GM locks the game with this switch on, or turns the switch on while the game is locked), Save entry is refused, the editor closes and what you typed is lost. Copy a long recap somewhere safe before the end of the session if you think the GM is about to lock the game.
What the messages mean
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| The GM has locked the journal while the game is locked. You can read it, but not change it. | The game is locked and the GM made the journal read-only for players until they unlock it. |
| This game is locked. Its journal opens again when the GM unlocks it. | You have Starter or Pro of your own, the game is locked, and its journal is no longer open between sessions: the GM turned the switch off, or their account no longer has the feature. You can read it in the game once it's unlocked. |
| Journal access requires the Starter or Pro plan. | You're on Free and this game's journal is no longer open between sessions. |
Good to know
- It's the GM's plan that counts. If the GM leaves Pro, players lose the journal between sessions within a minute or so. The switch keeps its setting, so it comes back if the GM returns to Pro.
- For players with Starter or Pro of their own, the switch adds the dashboard button and the journal while the game is locked. They always had the journal in the game.
- Turning the switch on or off never changes any entries.
Related
Campaign journal · Game settings · Invite players · What each plan includes